Flexible epoxy resins formed from polyepoxides, diglycidyl ethers of polyepichlorohydrin, and an amine curing agent



United States Patent FLEXIBLE EPOXY RESINS FORMED FROM POLY- EPGXIDES, DIGLYCIDYL ETHERS 0F POLYEPI- CHLORUHYDRIN, AND AN AMINE CURING AGENT Wesley E. Prescott, Lake Jackson, Tex., and Frank A. Bartolomeo, Westerly, R.I., assignors to The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 40,418, Aug. 15, 1960. This application Mar. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 437,546

9 Claims. (Cl. 260830) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE 'Flexible epoxy resins may be formed by curing a mixture of a polyepoxide, a diglycidyl ether of polyepichlorohydrin, and a hardening agent exemplified by polyalkylene polyamines, and p,p'-methylene dianiline. In an example 50 parts of the diglycidyl ether of polyepichlorohydrin were combined with 50 parts of the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A together with a catalytic amount of diethylene triamine and cured at 100 C. for 4.5 hours.

This application is a continuation-impart of application Ser. .No. 49,418, vfiled August 15, 1960, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to flexibilizers for epoxy resins and more particularly concerns novel and useful compositions of matter which, when mixed with convention-al epoxy resins and cured, impart to such resins a degree of flexibility not heretofore achieved without the usual expected decrease in the other desirable properties associated with such resins.

Heretofore it has been the practice in the field of epoxy resins, when flexibility is desired, to add to the polymerizable monmeric epoxy resin a monoglycidyl derivative of a long chain aliphatic compound, such as, monoglycidyl derivative of a polyamide, polysulfide, fatty diamine, or the like. These additives, while normally compatible with the conventional epoxy resins, impart problems in that many of the desired physical and chemical properties of the polymerizable mixture and the resulting cured resin are lost. The most common loss is in impact strength and heat stability.

It has now been found that the addition of a polyglycidyl ether of a poly(-chloroalkylene) glycol to conventional epoxy resin systems prior to curing will produce upon curing a flexible epoxy resin which has, in many instances, improved impact strength. Further, the fiexibilizers here taught do not materially affect the heat stability of the cured product. Thus, it has been found that the addition of a product having the following general formula can impart flexibility without loss of heat stability and with increased impact strength.

wherein n represents an integer from 1 to 2, a represents an integer from 2 to 30 or more. While it is considered to be an operable species of the present invention when a represents an integer less than 3 it is desirable in order to obtain a flexibility of commercial usefulness to use a polychlorohydrin of a weight average molecular weight above about 200, thus a as set forth above will generally have a value greater than 3.

In one manner of carrying out the present invention a chlorinated polyalkylene glycol (polyepichlorohydrin) is reacted with epichlorohydrin in at least stoichiometric quantities in the presence of a condensation catalyst and then dehydrohalogenated to form the digly-cidyl ether. Alternatively, the condensation and dehydrohalogenation may be accomplished in a single step when using caustic as the catalyst and dehydrohalogenation reactant. The resulting polyglycidyl ether, preferably a diglycidyl ether, can be purified in conventional manner, such as distillation or the like. A further method is to treat a polyepichlorohydrin with caustic to dehydrohalogenate the terminal chlorohydrin units. The diglycidyl ethers of polyepichlorohydrin are viscous liquids.

The chlorinated dihydroxy compounds which can be employed in accordance with the teachings here set forth are the polyoxychlorinated glycols such as the polyhalohydrins having weight average molecular weights from 203 to 10,000 or more, such as polyepichlorohydrin, polyoxy-chlorobutylene glycol and the like.

The glycidyl-forming moiety hereinbefore set forth as epichlorohydrin can with equal success he epibromohydrin.

The fiexibilizer, Le, a diglycidyl ether of a poly (chloroaikylene glycol), is mixed with a conventional epoxy compound, such as for example, the diglycidyl ether of 4,4- isopropylidene bis(phenol) sold commercially as DER 331 a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A having an epoxy equivalent Weight of 187-493; 332, a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A having an epoxy equivalent weight of 179; Epon 828, a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A having an epoxy equivalent weight of 200; Araldite 6010, a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A having an epoxy equivalent weight of 185l96; Epi-Res 510, a diglyc-idyl ether of bisphenol A having an epoxy equivalent weight of 180 200, to mention only a few of the available commercial products; or the higher molecular weight polyglycidyl ethers such as DER 661, a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A having an epoxy equivalent weight of 475-575; 664, a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A having an epoxy equivalent weight of 875-975, and the like, and a conventional epoxy curing agent, as for example, the polyalkylene polyamines, the bis(cyanoalkyl)polyalkylene-polyamines, diethylenetriamine, bis'(cyanoethyl) diethylenetriamines, dicarboxylic acids and anhydrides, Lewis Acids, or the like; potted, molded, cast or the like; and then cured with heat and/or aging as appropriate. The techniques of potting, molding, casting, and curing are well known and conventional in the art.

The following examples illustrate the present invention, but are not to be construed as limiting.

Example 1 The following data represent the results of physical tests run on cured epoxy resins obtained by curing a diglycidyl ether of Bisphenol-A (Epon 828, diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A having an epoxy equivalent weight of 200) and various weight percents of a fiexibilizer as indicated (prepared as below) with a catalytic amount of diethylenetriamine as the curing agent at C. for 4.5 hours. The viscosity shown is that of the uncured resin mixture.

Polyepichlorohydrin is epoxylated in the usual manner with at least two molecular equivalents of strong alkali.

The following data represent the results of curing Epon 828 for 4.5 hours at 100 C. with a catalytic amount of bis(cyanoethyl)diethylenetriamine (Table H) or methylenedianiline (Table III) and Epon 828 and fiexibilizer in accordance with the present invention.

Example 3 30 TABLE II obtained.

Izod Impact Strength, Shore A ft.-lb./inch Hardness notch 35 TABLE IV Epon 828 (Rigid) 0.66

Epon 828+50 percent diglycidyl ether of olyepichlorohydrin weight average 1110- Percent Flexi- Shore A Izod ocular weight 450 (Flexible) 15, 6 90 hrhzer by Hardness Impact Weight in Resin TABLE 111 40 MXmw Heat Corn- 99 0. 4 Viscosity Distor- Flexural pression 5 99 4 poises at tion Strength, Yield 99 0. 4 25 C. Point, F. ll)./in. Stress 99 0. 5 (1151,) 99 0. o 98 1. 0 Q 90 15. 7 Epon 828- 129 310 16, 000 17, 000 67 63 4. 8 Epon 828+25 percent di 53 2. 4 glycidyl ether of poly- 47 1.6 epiehlorohydrin weight 83 :11 1.1 average molecular weight .57 0. 6 450 18 231 14,000 16, 500 0 TABLE V.PROIERTIES OF FLEXIBLE RESINS IN 1:1 RATIO OF DER 332 TO FLEXIBILIZER (Cure, 4 hrs. at C., Curing agent, bis (cyanoethyl) deta] In the manner of Example 2, using various percentages of Epon 828 and the diglycidyl ether of polyepichlorohydrin (weight average molecular weight of the polyepi- 'chlorohydrin 380 prepared in the manner of Example 1), the following physical properties of the cured resins were Izod Impact (ft.-1bs/in. of notch) 4 Dielectric Power Arc Flexibilizer Constant 1 Factor 2 Resistance,

sec. After 64 hrs. at 4 hrs. at

Curing 80 C. C.

3. Til 0. 044 62 0. 51 0. 51 0. 49 Diglycidyl either of polyepichlorohydrin (MW 1,000) 5 4. 00 0.071 9 19. 3 9. 0 1. l

1 ASTM D-54'1.

2 ASTM D150-54T.

3 ASTM D495-48T.

4 ASTM D256-54T, Method a.

5 Prepared in the manner of Example 1 (MW=weight average molecular weight).

We claim:

1. An epoxy resin derived by curing with an epoxy curing agent selected from the group of polya-lkylene poly-amines, and p,p'-methylene dianiline, a mixture of a first diglycidyl ether of 4,-4'-isopropylidene bis(phenol) and a second diglycidyl polyglycol ether having the formula diglycidyl ether of 4,4'-is-opropylidene bis (phenol) having 20 an epoxy equivalent weight of about 200.

5. The resin of claim 1 wherein said curing agent is diethylene triam-ine.

6. The resin of claim 5 wherein said first ether is the diglycidyl ether of 4,4-isopropylidene bis(pheno1) 'having an epoxy equivalent weight of about 2 00.

7. The resin of claim 6 wherein said second resin is the diglycidyl ether of polyepichlorohydrin having an average weight molecular weight of 450.

8. The resin of claim 6 wherein said second resin is the diglyeidyl ether of polyepichlorohydrin having an average weight molecular weight of 380.

9. The resin of claim 6 wherein said second resin is the diglycidyl ether of polyepichlorohydrin having an average weight molecular weight of 1000.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1962 Pannell 260-8 30 10/1966 Smith 260830 

